The phrase “universal basic income” is becoming increasingly well-known among Americans, thanks in large part to Facebook Founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg expressing his support for the concept during his recent commencement speech at Harvard University. Essentially, universal basic income involves a country giving a set amount to its citizens each month – say, $600 – to help offset the struggles many experience because of diminishing job opportunities, a growing reliance on technology and automation and increasingly widespread poverty.

There is little that offers more insight into the current divisive state of the nation than the recent presidential election results, and the fact that President Donald Trump was elected to the highest office in the land despite losing the popular vote by nearly three million votes. Now that he is in office, views about whether he should be embraced or rejected by the American public continue to vary broadly. Does his election offer evidence of an extremist culture, and does following his lead only ensure more of the same? Or do Americans have a patriotic duty to rally behind their leader, because doing anything else would only further divide the public, and therefore not benefit anyone?

Pre-Debate Poll Results

Prior to the debate, 28 percent of audience members were in favor of the motion that the American public needs to give President Donald Trump a chance, while 43 percent were against the motion and 29 percent were undecided.

Racial tensions are undeniably high in America, and much of the strain comes on the heels of the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, by a white police officer and the wave of additional and controversial deaths that followed. Given the widespread and rapid sharing of information that now takes place via social media and related channels, many Americans have viewed these encounters for themselves and had an opportunity to form their own opinions about them.